This is a busy night sky in July, so be sure to look at the top

The next fortnight will be a real treat for astronomers – there are five planets to see in the evening sky, Mars looks the best we've seen in 15 years, and the morning of July 28 there will be a total lunar eclipse

We are currently in the midst of a season of five planets due to Jupiter and Saturn being on the same side of the sun.

Look at the sky after sunset, and if you have a good view of both East and West horizons, you will see the extended planets online. Mars and Saturn will rise to the east, Jupiter will sit high, and Venus shining and Mercury low will lie to the west.

Just after sundown, you Josh Kirkley, of the Stardome Observatory and Auckland Planetarium, said, "We will be able to spot every 5 in a row that will Extend from east to west around 18h-18h30.

READ MORE:
* Mars will move closer to Earth in the coming weeks than it was 15 years ago
* Curiosity's five-year journey through Mars in one great picture
* Keep an eye on the sky – Mars will be at his tallest and brightest
* Mars and a blood moon, with "the longest lunar eclipse of the century"

Over the next few years, there will be more moments five planets visible to the naked eye can be seen together. But finally Jupiter and Saturn will separate and once that happens, it will take another decade before the five planets meet again.

The Moon begins its planetary tour on Sunday, July 15th. It will be a thin crescent moon in the west sky and is a large panel for Mercury that will be just to the left of the Moon with bright Venus sitting on it

The next night, the Moon will be near Venus ( as shown in the picture above). Then, on July 19, the Moon of the first quarter will be under the bright star Spica

On July 21, the gibbous Moon will move towards Jupiter and on July 25, it will join Saturn.

Moon ends the tour on July 27 when he joins Mars who shines at his best and brightest

RED PLANET, RED MOON

Every month, when we see the Full Moon, we see the Moon "in opposition". This means that the Moon is directly opposite to the Sun, rises as the Sun goes down and sets when the Sun rises

On July 27, not only is the Moon in opposition, but Mars too, and she is very favorable. much closer to the Earth than the average.

Mars approaches Earth on July 31st at a distance of 58 million km and its rapid increase in brightness over the last few weeks has been amazing to see. Mars will eclipse Jupiter and become the third brightest object in the night sky, behind the Moon and Venus (a graph of Mars' brightness is here).

The reason Mars can vary so much in brightness is because it is our neighbor in space and it follows quite an elliptical orbit. Throughout the year 2017, Mars was quite dull as it was on the opposite side of the Sun to the Earth, and therefore the furthest away.

But even with each opposition, the distance between Earth and Mars can vary by nearly 50 million km. elliptical orbits of the two planets. 2018 is certainly one of the best

With a striking red March in the night sky, what else could be better than teaming up with a blood red moon.

Here is the best time to see Mars:

IN THE SHADOW

When we look up to the sky during the early hours of July 28, Red Mars will be sitting just above and to the left of the eclipsed Moon.

Across the southern hemisphere, everyone will see the moon enter the Earth's shadow at the same time. In fact, everyone on the side of the Earth will see the eclipse together.

The eclipse will begin with the Moon in the western sky and the Moon will fold as the eclipse. As the Moon goes down, the Sun will rise so that the later part of the eclipse will occur on the dawn sky.

The exact time of the sunset depends on the location.

The advantage of seeing the moon eclipsed on the horizon is that the illusion of the moon comes in. Our brains will lead us to think that the moon is larger than normal, this which explains why the rising and falling moon can be particularly impressive.

LUNAR TRIFECTA

Lunar eclipses are generally slow, but it overcomes them all by being the longest eclipse of the 21st century.

Totality will last 1 hour and 43 minutes, 4 minutes less than the longest possible duration. Three things came together to make this possible.

First and foremost, this eclipse will see the Moon move to the center of the Earth's shadow, creating a long, deep eclipse.

Second, the eclipse occurs an "apogee" moon, when the Moon is farthest away from Earth.

For those who remember Kepler's Second Law, being farthest means that the Moon moves the slowest. As a result, it will spend another 5-10 minutes in the shadow of the Earth compared to a perigee Moon when the Moon is closest to Earth and moves faster.

Finally, a few extra minutes are recovered because this eclipse is occurring near the aphelion, that is, when the Earth is farthest from the Sun and occurs at the beginning of the month of July.

What is interesting is that the Earth is the furthest away from the Sun. The darkest part of the Earth's shadow is the region where the Moon must pbad to make an eclipse (there are also penumbral eclipses, when the moon pbades only by lighter shadow and penumbral, but it is almost impossible The brightness of the Moon in this case).

It is completely safe to watch a lunar eclipse and no special equipment is needed to view it. This is our last chance to see a total lunar eclipse until May 2021, although we can observe a partial lunar eclipse next July.

Get ready for a good lookout of the planet over the next fortnight and do not forget to set your alarm early on July 28 to see the eclipse and catch a real natural wonder.

Tanya Hill is Honorary Member of the University of Melbourne and Senior Curator (Astronomy) at ] Victoria Museums

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.